Image forming apparatus

ABSTRACT

An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus for suppressing deviations in the application position of a light emitted from an optical box, thus preventing an image from being deteriorated. Another object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus that has an image bearing body, a light source, a polarizing device for polarizing a light emitted from the light source, a lens for imaging a light polarized by the polarizing device onto the image bearing body, and an optical box for containing at least the light source, the polarizing device, and the lens, wherein the optical box is provided plurally and the plurality of optical boxes are stacked to be integrated.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus having a plurality of scanning type optical devices used in a copy machine, a printer, a facsimile, etc.

[0003] 2. Related Background Art

[0004] Conventionally, in a scanning type optical device used in a laser beam printer (LBP), a digital copy machine, etc., light flux emitted from a light source means as light-modulated on the basis of an image signal is periodically polarized by a polarizer comprising, e.g., a rotary polygon mirror and then converged in a spot by a scanning type optical element (image forming element) having an fθ characteristic onto a surface of a recording medium (photosensitive drum) having a photosensitivity, which surface is scanned optically to record the image.

[0005]FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram for showing an important part of the above-mentioned type of a conventional scanning type optical device.

[0006] In the scanning type optical device shown in FIG. 9, divergent light flux emitted from a light source means 91 is transformed by a collimator lens 92 into roughly parallel light flux, which is in turn limited in light quantity by a diaphragm 93 and then injected to a cylinder lens (cylindrical lens) 94 having a predetermined refracting power only in the sub-scanning direction. The roughly parallel light flux thus injected to the cylinder lens 94 is emitted as in a main scanning cross section, to be converged in a sub-scanning cross section and formed as an approximate line image on a polarizing surface (reflecting surface) 95 a of a polarizer 95 comprising a rotary polygon mirror.

[0007] Thus, the polarized and reflected on the polarizing surface 95 a of the polarizer 95 passes through a scanning type optical element (fθ lens) having an fθ characteristic and is guided on a photosensitive drum surface 98, which surface is then scanned optically in a direction of an arrow B when the polarizer 95 is turned in a direction of an arrow A. In such a way, an image is recorded on the photosensitive drum surface 98, which is a recording medium.

[0008] Recently, there has been proposed a color image forming apparatus having a plurality of (e.g., four) scanning type optical devices (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 6-183056 and 10-186254).

[0009] A conventional color image forming apparatus, however, uses many folding mirrors and has a plurality of (e.g., four) scanning type optical devices independently screwed to the side plate of the main body thereof, so that when those optical devices are specifically fixed to that main body, their light application positions are deviated different directions, to thereby give rise to misregistration in color, thus causing image quality deterioration.

[0010] Furthermore, since they are solidly fixed as deformed, their light application positions are deviated in different directions by environmental fluctuations, i.e. high/low temperatures, distorted mounting (where the color image forming apparatus is mounted on a distorted surface), which also gives rise to misregistration in color.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0011] It is an object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus for suppressing deviations in the application position of a light emitted from an optical box, thus preventing an image from being deteriorated.

[0012] It is another object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus comprising an image bearing body, a light source, a polarizing means for polarizing a light emitted from the light source, a lens for imaging a light polarized by the polarizing means onto the image bearing body, and an optical box for containing at least the light source, the polarizing means, and the lens, wherein the optical box is provided plurally and the plurality of optical boxes to be integrated.

[0013] Further objects of the present invention will become apparent from the following description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0014]FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view for showing a state where scanning type optical devices of a color image forming apparatus related to the present invention are stacked in a plurality of stages;

[0015]FIG. 2 is a plan view for showing the scanning type optical device of the color image forming apparatus related to the present invention;

[0016]FIG. 3 is a perspective view for showing an optical box of the scanning type optical device;

[0017]FIG. 4 is another perspective view for showing the optical box of the scanning type optical device;

[0018]FIG. 5 is further another perspective view for showing the optical box of the scanning type optical device;

[0019]FIG. 6 is still further another perspective view for showing the optical box of the scanning type optical device;

[0020]FIG. 7 is a perspective view for showing a method of fixing the scanning type optical device to the color image forming apparatus;

[0021]FIG. 8 is another perspective view for showing the method for fixing the scanning type optical device to the color image forming apparatus; and

[0022]FIG. 9 is a plan view for showing an important part of a conventional scanning type optical device.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0023] The following will describe some embodiments of the present invention with reference to the drawings attached hereto.

[0024]FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view for showing a state where scanning type optical devices of a color image forming apparatus related to the present invention are stacked in a plurality of stages, FIG. 2 is a plan view for showing the scanning type optical device, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view for showing an optical box.

[0025] In the color image forming apparatus relating to the present invention, as shown in FIG. 1, four scanning type optical devices 40 a, 40 b, 40 c, and 40 d are vertically stacked in a plurality of stages and respectively comprise optical boxes 36 a, 36 b, 36 c, and 36 d, which respectively include laser units 30 a, 30 b, 30 c, and 30 d for producing a roughly parallel light of a light flux emitted from light source semiconductor lasers 100 a, 100 b, 100 c, and 100 d, respectively, cylindrical lenses 31 a, 31 b, 31 c, and 31 d shown in FIG. 2 for forming as an image a light flux on the reflection surface of rotary polygon mirrors 33 a, 33 b, 33 c, and 33 d, respectively, polarizer means 32 a, 32 b, 32 c, and 32 d for polarizing light flux 50 a, 50 b, 50 c, and 50 d, respectively for scanning, beam detecting sensors 38 a, 38 b, 38 c, and 38 d shown in FIG. 2 for sampling a write-out synchronization signal, image-forming lenses 34 a, 34 b, 34 c, and 34 d for forming as an image thus polarized light flux on image bearing bodies 37 a, 37 b, 37 c, and 37 d, respectively, and lenses 35 a, 35 b, 35 c, and 35 d.

[0026] In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, at the upper part of the optical boxes 36 c and 36 d are provided protrusions 41 c and 41 d, respectively and, at the lower part of them are formed pores 42 c and 42 d, respectively. The protrusion 41 d and the pores 42 c and 42 d are provided on both sides of the optical box like the protrusion 41 c.

[0027] Thus, the protrusion 41 d of the underlying optical box 36 d is fitted into the pore 42 c of the overlying optical box 36 c to thereby align these two optical boxes 36 c and 36 d. Then, elastic member springs 39 a and 39 b are pushed from both sides into lateral ribs 43 c 2 and 43 d 1, which are expanded engaging portions for engagement with other optical boxes, of the optical boxes 36 c and 36 d, respectively, to thereby fasten these two optical boxes with each other.

[0028] The four scanning type optical devices 40 a, 40 b, 40 c, and 40 d can be fasted one another by almost the same operations as above in such a configuration employed above that the optical boxes 36 a through 36 d are fasted each other by use of the springs 39 a and 39 b to thereby fasten those four optical boxes without deformations unlike in the case of a conventional embodiment, thus avoiding fluctuations in the position of applying light flux 50 a through 50 d emitted from the scanning type optical devices 40 a through 40 d onto the image bearing bodies 37 a through 37 d, respectively. Moreover, even with environmental fluctuations such as high or low temperatures and skewed mounting, no residual stress is generated on the optical boxes 36 a through 36 d, so that such optical devices as the laser units 30 a through 30 d, the cylindrical lenses 31 a through 31 d, the polarizers 32 a through 32 d, and the image forming lenses 34 a through 34 d and 35 a through 35 d have no deformation or shift to thereby prevent the optical boxes 36 a through 36 d from being deformed or shifted, thus avoiding fluctuations in the light application positions.

[0029] Furthermore, those optical boxes can be fasted with each other by adhering them at the gap between the protrusion and the pore in place of using the spring. In addition, they can be fastened with each other by welding them at their respective protrusions.

[0030] Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 4, the lateral ribs 43 c 1, 43 c 2, 43 d 1, and 43 d 2, at which the optical boxes 36 c and 36 d are fixed with each other, may be provided with notches 44 c and 44 d, respectively, to fasten the optical boxes 36 c and 36 d by sandwiching the ribs 44 c 1 and 44 c 2 present between the notches of the lateral ribs 43 c 2 and 43 d 1 superposed one on the other using the springs 39 a and 39 b from both sides, thus avoiding deformations in the portions where such optical devices are mounted as the laser units 30 c and 30 d, the cylindrical lenses 31 c and 31 d, the polarizers 32 c and 32 d, and the image forming lenses 34 c, 34 d, 35 c, and 35 d to thereby suppress fluctuations in the light application positions of the scanning type optical devices 40 c and 40 d. Accordingly, the optical boxes 36 a through 36 d can be fastened with each other by almost the same fastening method as above to thereby suppress fluctuations in the light application positions of the scanning type optical devices 40 a through 40 d.

[0031] In this case, if an inclination distance between the scanning type optical devices 40 d and 40 c when the scanning type optical device 40 c is mounted to the scanning type optical device 40 d is within an allowable range (a few tens of micrometer (μm) approximately), the scanning type optical devices 40 c and 40 d may be fastened to each other according to the above-mentioned method.

[0032] If, however, the light illumination is inclined such that the resultant misregistration in color goes out of the allowable range when the scanning type optical devices 40 a through 40 d are simply stacked one on another, the inclination can be adjusted according to the following procedure to then properly the scanning type optical devices 40 a through 40 d one another.

[0033] By fixing, in FIG. 5, one side of the lateral rib 43 c 2 provided to the optical box 36 c as measuring the light application positions (light flux 50 c 1 and 50 c 2) of the scanning type optical device 40 c with respect to the light application positions (light flux 50 dl and 50 d 2) of the scanning type optical device 40 d to then adjust the light application positions by moving the other side of the lateral rib 43 c 2 vertically in a C-C′ direction in order to stop the optical box 36 c at a predetermined position, an adhesive agent can be then poured into a gap between the protrusion 42 c and the pore 42 d to thereby fix the optical boxes 36 c and 36 d to each other.

[0034] The following will describe a method for once fixing the scanning type optical devices 40 a through 40 d to their respective members with respect to FIG. 6.

[0035] A storage member 60, which is a positioning means, for the scanning type optical devices 40 a through 40 d is provided with inner ribs 61 a 1, 61 a 2, 61 b 1, 61 b 2, 61 cl, 61 c 2, 61 d 1, and 61 d 2, so that when the scanning type optical device 40 d is to be mounted for example, it is put on the inner ribs 6ld 1 and 6ld 2 to thereby sandwich, in a depth direction, a pair of the lateral rib 43 d 2 and the inner rib 61 d 2 and another pair of the lateral rib 43 d 4 and the inner rib 61 d 1 of the optical box 36 d by using the springs 39 a and 39 b as shown in FIG. 3 or 4. Likewise, they are sandwiched by the springs 39 a and 39 b on the opposite side.

[0036] Likewise, the four scanning type optical devices 40 a through 40 d are mounted and fixed to the storage member 60.

[0037] In this case, the storage member 60 has one reference pore 72 a (the other reference pore is formed on the opposite side) formed therein, so that by inserting into and fixing to this reference pore 72 aone reference pin 71 a (the other reference pin is provided on the opposite side) protruding from the color image forming apparatus 70 to thereby determine the position of the storage member 60, thus fixing it to the color image forming apparatus 70 by a screw 73. By providing such a storage member 60, the four scanning type optical devices 40 a through 40 d can be replaced simultaneously, thus facilitating maintenance. Moreover, even if the color image forming apparatus 70 is mounted on an inclined surface, only outer ribs 76 a and 76 b of the storage member 60 are deformed, thus leaving the light application positions of the scanning type optical devices 40 a through 40 d unchanged.

[0038] The following will describe a method for stacking the scanning type optical devices 40 a through 40 d as they are one on another and then fixing them to the color image forming apparatus with reference to FIG. 7.

[0039] The optical box 36 d of the scanning type optical device 40 d set at the lowest stage is mounted with one engaging fixture rib 79 a and the other at the front and rear parts thereof in the light emission direction, the fixture rib 79 a of which has one reference pore 77 a formed therein, with the other formed on the opposite side of the optical box.

[0040] Thus, the scanning type optical devices 40 a through 40 d are stacked one on another according to almost the same method as described above with reference to FIG. 3, 4, or 5. Then, the reference pore 77 a formed in the fixture rib 79 a is fitted to the reference pin 71 a (the other reference pin is provided on the light emitting side) provided as protruded on the color image forming apparatus 70 to thereby determine the positions of the scanning type optical devices 40 a through 40 d, thus fixing the scanning type optical devices 40 a through 40 d to the color image forming apparatus 70 using a screw 75. Thus, the scanning type optical devices 40 a through 40 d can be fixed to the color image forming apparatus 70 to thereby prevent the optical boxes 36 a through 36 d from being deformed, thus avoiding the fluctuations in the light application positions of the scanning type optical devices 40 a through 40 d.

[0041] Next, the following will describe a method for fixing the scanning type optical devices 40 a through 40 d using a screw, on the basis of FIG. 8.

[0042] Likewise in the above-mentioned example, the scanning type optical devices 40 a through 40 d are aligned and positioned through the reference pore 77 a and the reference pin 71 a and then fixed to the color image forming apparatus 70 by sandwiching this apparatus 70 and one pair of the ribs 80 a and 80 b (the other pair is provided on the opposite side) by one pair of fixture springs 81 a and 81 b (the other pair is provided on the opposite side). Accordingly, likewise in the above example, the optical boxes 36 a through 36 d are not deformed, to permit the scanning type optical devices 40 a through 40 d to be fixed as unchanged in light application position. In this case, the scanning type optical devices 40 a through 40 d can be fixed to the color image forming apparatus also by means of adhesion or welding to obtain the same effects.

[0043] In this embodiment in particular, in a case where the folded mirror is not arranged in the scanning type optical devices 40 a through 40 d, there are less factors present for causing fluctuations in the light application position even with a slight deformation in the optical boxes 36 a through 36 d, to thereby reduce those fluctuation in the light application position greatly, thus enabling obtaining a color image forming apparatus capable of high-accuracy printing.

[0044] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the interval (pitch) between the image bearing bodies 37 a through 37 d is the same as that between the scanning type optical devices 40 a through 40 d, so that the color image forming apparatus can be made with the minimum required number of components and very inexpensively.

[0045] Therefore, by the present invention, a plurality of optical boxes is put in a stack and integrated to thereby constitute scanning optical devices, so that these scanning type optical devices can be prevented from encountering such a phenomenon that these devices, when they are mounted to a color image forming apparatus, are deformed to be shifted in their light application positions in different directions, thus avoiding image quality deterioration due to misregistration in color to obtain a high quality color image in a stable manner.

[0046] While there has been described what is at present considered to be preferred embodiments of the present invention, it will be understood that various modifications may be made therein, and it is intended to cover in the appended claims all such modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the present invention. 

What is claimed is:
 1. An image forming apparatus comprising: an image bearing body; a light source; polarizing means for polarizing a light emitted from said light source; a lens for imaging a light polarized by said polarizing means onto said image bearing body; and an optical box for containing at least said light source, said polarizing means, and said lens, wherein said optical box is provided plurally and said plurality of optical boxes are stacked to be integrated.
 2. An image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said optical box has a positioning portion for other of said optical box to be stacked thereon.
 3. An image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said optical box and other of said optical box are fixed to each other by an elastic member, or by adhering or welding.
 4. An image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said optical box has an engaging portion for engaging with other of said optical box.
 5. An image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said engaging portion has a notch portion.
 6. An image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising positioning means having positioning portions for positioning said plurality of optical boxes, respectively.
 7. An image forming apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said positioning means has a form of a box.
 8. An image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said optical box has an engaging portion for engaging with a main body of said apparatus.
 9. An image forming apparatus according to claim 8, wherein said engaging portion has a notch portion.
 10. An image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said image bearing body is provided plurally and said plurality of image bearing bodies are provided in correspondence with said plurality of optical boxes, respectively.
 11. An image forming apparatus according to claim 10, wherein an interval between said optical boxes is equal to an interval between said image bearing bodies.
 12. An image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said plurality of optical boxes corresponds to a plurality of formed images having different colors. 